Summer is an exciting time for children to enjoy playtime with friends, a week at camp, a family vacation or time at the pool. But for many children who receive free or reduced-price meals at school, summer means hunger. Picnic in the Park offers free, healthy meals, fun physical activities, and nutrition education opportunities to ensure that summer is fun for all kids in our county. 

Picnic in the Park is a program hosted by the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County during summer break. The program provides free lunches to children 18 years and under Monday – Friday countywide. Everyone is welcome, and there is no sign-up or registration process. 

The program is available at locations throughout Santa Barbara County. Locally, children can go to the Goleta Community Center (5679 Hollister Avenue) June 12 through August 18 from 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. For a list of all sites, please visit https://foodbanksbc.org/programs/lunch/.

Volunteers Needed! Community volunteers manage and support individual park sites, hand out lunches, organize food literacy training and oversee summer games. Click here to get involved. 

The City of Goleta wants to send our heartfelt congratulations to all our #GoletaGraduates. Whether you are graduating from college, high school, junior high or elementary school, we are so proud of you! 

We also want to take a moment to highlight and thank a special 2023 Dos Pueblos High School graduate, Kyle Yao, who has been involved with the City of Goleta on the Public Engagement Commission (PEC) for the past two years. 

Kyle said, “Being able to exchange ideas on equal footing with my fellow commissioners and actually present ideas implemented by the city was something I will be forever grateful for.”

After this rewarding experience, Kyle would encourage other Goleta youth to get involved in city government as well. He said, “I would recommend anybody interested in City government to give a commissionership a try. Not only do you give back to our city, but you also gain a level of professionalism and self-confidence that can be applied to any endeavor one strives for in the future.”

Prior to his appointment as a Youth Commissioner on PEC, Kyle was a graduate of the City’s 2nd LEAD Goleta Community Academy in February of 2020.

Kyle is a member of the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy (DPEA) and is on the group’s leadership team. He is also a player on the school golf team. Kyle volunteers at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and is a Co-coach of a youth First Lego League robotics team.   

Kyle is headed to the University of California at Berkely where he will major in Predental/Chemistry. He aspires to be an Endodontist (a Specialist Dentist). We have no doubt that he will achieve all his goals and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Thank you, Kyle, for all you have done for Goleta!

The City is always looking for outstanding youth to join our boards and commissions. If you are interested, please visit https://www.cityofgoleta.org/boardscommissions.